Woman dies in Australia using cheap USB-style charger

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian authorities issued a warning about cheap, non-compliant USB-style chargers on Friday after a young woman died from apparent electrocution while using a laptop and possibly a smartphone.

The 28-year-old was found wearing headphones and with her computer in her lap with burns on her chest and ears at a home in Gosford, north of Sydney, in April.

Police are still investigating the circumstances of the death but the Department of Fair Trading, which has assisted with the case, suggested a sub-standard mobile phone charger could be to blame.

The woman, whom reports said was from the Philippines but had recently become an Australian citizen, had headphones plugged into her laptop, which was connected to a power socket to charge.